Seed Savers/Seed Libraries

Information

Organized out of our Strathcona Park Field House, Savers is part of VV Neighbourhood Food Networks. Join VV, then Seed Savers.

We currently have 26 seed libraries in several neighbourhoods around Vancouver. (See list below.) Some are accessible during regular operating hours, and some are accessible during workshops and other activities.

We run Seed Saving workshops, convene Seed Saver Clubs, hold Seed Packet Parties at the fieldhouse and elsewhere, save seeds from our Collaborative Gardens in Kits, Strathcona, and W. Pt. Grey, make seed donations to community and school gardens and other seed libraries, and support efforts to increase seed sovereinty.

If you'd like to get involved, please contact seedsaving@villagevancouver.ca.

Discussion Forum

Hi all,We're having a seed packet folding party on Sunday, April 12th from 3-6 pm in Kits, near the beach. A potluck will follow.Goal: create over a thousand new seed packets for our various seed…Continue

Saturday, November 16, 2013 from 10am to 12:30pm McBride Park Fieldhouse, 4th and Waterloo, KitsJoin members of Kits, Main Street, and other Village Seed Saving Projects in building and painting…Continue

Sunday, February 24 from 9am to 12:30pmKits, near beach. Address to be sent to RSVPers a couple days before.Organized by Ross Moster, Kits Village Seed Savers/Library, Main Street Village Seed…Continue

There will be people coming from all over BC to attend the 2012 Seed Gathering. If you can billet someone for November 9th and 10th (or possibly the 9th, 10th, and 11th), please let us know. Contact…Continue

Comment Wall

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Looking for a low cost/free venue hopefully close to or in Cedar Cottage area to host a seedsaving workshop -- beginner level -- in the next few weeks. Please contact me if you know of a place or can offer a meeting space. Thanks. Cylia

Calling all seed geeks! If you love seeds and the people who grow them, if you are the people who grow them, or if you want to be the people who grow them, save this date - November 9-11 is the BC Seeds Gathering 2012. Check this link for further details http://www.farmfolkcityfolk.ca/events/bc-seeds-gathering-2012/Robin

The Cedar Cottage seed saving collective is hoping to be able to offer black turtle (bush) bean, cranberry bean, dragon tongue bean, kintoki bean, black-seeded Simpson lettuce, darlaine pea (soup) and ancho hot pepper to "grow out". We will be testing for viability in the spring and may need to purchase more seed.

I have begun to post 2012 Seedy Saturday (Sunday) events on our wordpress account located at http://ccseedsavers.wordpress.com/ . The first one is late January. Feel free to subscribe to get the latest news.

Attention organic gardeners (of all skill levels): the Cedar Cottage Seed Savers Collective is looking for several volunteers to support its seed bank by growing out a couple varieties of seed. You don't need to live in the Cedar Cottage neighbourhood to participate! We provide you with free seed and ongoing support and guidance throughout the growing season. At harvest time, volunteers may keep half of the bounty for themselves while the other half is returned to the seed bank. Please email ccseedsavingcollective@gmail.com if interested. And feel free to visit our blog! http://ccseedsavers.wordpress.com

The Environmental Youth Alliance is having its annual "Spring Seed Swap" event on Saturday, April 16th, 10am-1pm at the Eco-Pavilion in the Strathcona Community Garden. We'd like to encourage gardeners from all over the city to come by to exchange seeds and to browse through the seed collection that EYA is happy to share, especially with new gardeners! For more information on this event, please contact info@eya.ca, or message me.

Hello: I'm very glad it went well. Thank you - still feeling a bit foggy but I'm sure a few more days of rest will help immensely.

Yes, agreed that we should be concentrating on our own seed collective for the time being. The question of seed purity is something that has to be seriously considered, and I know that it keeps coming up in our meetings.

I hope to email the group within the next few days in regards to our next meeting and items that need addressing.

Hi Amy: I hope you're feeling much better. It was a good group and discussion.

I am open to both ideas, with enough seed being kept for purity and heritage value, while extra seed could be donated to seed libraries. It's one way to get people engaged in learning about seed saving.

For now, we can concentrate on our seed collective. We're not quite at the seed giving away stage. Also, there is the question of seed purity.

The one I've known about for a little while now is the one in Richmond, California: http://www.richmondgrows.org/ I love that the seed lending library itself operates out of their public library.

Perhaps we should discuss this concept at our next meeting? It could certainly tie in to our concept of a seed bank, and how we should be operating it. It would seem that the "seed library" would require a lot more work as it is open to the public (with a pre-requisite orientation, whether in-person or online) whereas our "seed bank" is a more closed entity, and more for exchange with other seed banks/collectives...would you agree?